The One About the Valentine Cookie

Gavin made a special treat to take to his daycare friends today:  a giant chocolate chip cookie.  I told him it was a surprise, and not to tell his friends.  Well he had a hard time keeping the secret.  He didn't tell them, but he gave them several clues.  "Hey guys, I have an idea for you (he meant clue).  It's a shape!  And it's got frosting." 

I'll end with a picture of my favorite little Husker cowboy.  That's a rubber turtle in his mouth, if you were wondering. 

The One About the Super Bowl Party

   I haven't really felt like blogging lately.  I guess I have been focusing on some other things in life, and just haven't felt like sharing much. 
   Today has been a quiet day.  I had an appointment in Norfolk this morning, so the boys were at daycare.  This afternoon Asher napped and Gavin and I played Old Maid.  I pulled out the card game Skip Bo last week to occupy his time.  Skip Bo is a game that we played as children with my grandparents.  It will always have a special place in my heart and make me think back to those days sitting around my grandparents' table.  I have always loved it.  I taught Gavin a simplified version, where he was working on his number recognition (because, of course, now I am focused on the educational purpose behind virtually any activity) .   We have been playing it nonstop, and even taught Aunt Shayla over the weekend.  So this morning, I bought him Old Maid. 
  
   Yesterday, we dressed in our Vikings gear, and sent an early morning picture text to wake up Uncle Travis and Uncle Nate on game day.  Both are huge Packers fans.  Uncle Travis threatened to call Child Protective Services.  :)

   Last night, we had the Spanglers over to watch the Super Bowl.  We hadn't seen them since Sydney's 3rd birthday party in December.  It was so nice to see them again.  The kids had so much fun playing.  Here are a couple pics from the night:

This was funny, because we told Asher to sit by Collin, and he started backing up to sit ON Collin.  In fact, several times during the night he attempted to sit on Collin.  :)  He also enjoyed crawling into Megan's lap all night. 

Chef Gavin and Chef Sydney 

The One About the Sunday Road Trip

We woke up this morning and planned to go to church and spend the day relaxing at home.  Then Ernie and I decided that we needed a family road trip day.  We got online, and within 45 minutes were heading down the highway towards Hastings.  I found out that they turned part of the Imperial Mall into a Children's Museum.  How funny, since I spent 2 1/2 years working in the Payless store in that mall.  I was curious to see how many stores were still in the mall, and what they did with the old Payless space.   We stopped in Grand Island to eat lunch and do a few errands, and then headed on south.  When we got to Hastings, we drove around the Hastings College campus and past our old apartment.  It's so funny how familiar the streets were, yet in another way that seems like an entire lifetime ago. 
   The Children's Museum wasn't quite what we expected.  Nothing really can compare to the Lincoln Children's Museum.  Still, the boys had a fun time.  It was so cold today, and it was great to have somewhere so the boys could run around and play.  They even had a blow-up planetarium that Gavin and I crawled in to sit through the star show.  Here are some pics from the day:

The One About the First Name

     Asher has been saying many new words and phrases lately, so I thought I would share some and tell a funny story about him.  He's getting very functional with his language.  He says:  up (to be picked up), all done, bite, poopy, and pizza.  He also asks, "Where's Daddy?"  When he wants to show me something, he runs up to me and rattles of a long string of "words" and then points to where he wants me to go.  Last night, he put himself to bed.  He got his blankie, gave me his last kiss, and then said, "Nigh-nigh" and ran into his bedroom.  If only it were that easy every night.  Not that he is a hard one to get to sleep.  He usually does pretty well. 
   Asher was in the bathtub one day last week, and I yelled Ernie's name to get him to come in there.  Asher repeated me: "Ernie!"  This isn't new, since he pretty much repeats everything we say.  I didn't think he really understood what he was saying.  This morning, I was changing his diaper and Ernie was in the other room.  Asher was yelling, "Daddy!  Daddy!"  Well, that didn't work so he switched to "Ernie!  Ernie!"  :)  Guess he did understand that "Ernie" also is a name for "Daddy." 

The One About Sledding

    Despite the weather today, we were able get outside and run off some energy.   We ran snow races, jumped into snow piles, and made snow angels.  It was fun, and I felt like a child again.  Then we decided to try out the new sled Gavin got for Christmas. 

    Asher didn't seem to care much for the sled ride, but LOVED when he rode on the 4-Wheeler with Ernie.  He was so mad when it was Gavin's turn. 

    I took advantage of Ernie being home today and finished our tax paperwork, cleaned out the refrigerator and freezer, cleaned the floors, and caught up on laundry.  It was a nice day, and the way the snow keeps falling, looks like we will all be home together again tomorrow.  :) 

The One About the Bad Dream

Gavin:   Mommy, I had a bad dream.
Me:  What was it about?
Gavin:  A guy with no head who was going to steal all my toys.

The One About Dragon Nuts

Me:  Gavin, I love you but you are driving me nuts.
Gavin:  I love you too, Dragon Nuts.